Fall 2024 Sociology Course List
Fall ‘24 Sociology Course Offerings
SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology Cr 3
Introduces the fundamental concepts, principles, and methods of sociology, analyzes the influence of social and cultural factors upon human behavior and evaluates the effect of group processes, social classes, stratification, and basic institutions in contemporary society. Satisfies the General Education Social Contexts and Institutions requirement.
SOC 101-0001 MoWe 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM Michael Haedicke Williams Hall 211
SOC 101-0002 Tu/Th 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM Michael Haedicke Williams Hall 211
SOC 101-0003 Tu/TH 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM Karyn Sporer DPC 117
SOC 101-0004 Tu/TH 09:30 Am –10:45 AM Karyn Sporer DPC 117
SOC 101-0190 Asynchronous Amy Blackstone Online
SOC 101-0400/990 10/14/2024 – 12/6/2024 Karyn Sporer Online
CRJ 114 Survey of Criminal Justice Cr 3
This course is designed to provide an overview of the justice process and the criminal justice system in general. Concepts of crime, deviance and justice will be discussed. Individual rights in a democratic society will be explored. As will the legal definitions of various crimes. The law enforcement, judicial, juvenile justice and corrections subsystem will also be explored, and a number of reform proposals presented.
CRJ 114-0001 Tu/Th 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM Sarah Walton Lord Hall 100
CRJ 114-0002 Tu/Th 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM Sarah Walton Lord Hall 100
CRJ 214 Intro to Criminology Cr 3
The police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota in May 2020 sparked nationwide uprisings and triggered many questions about the role of crime and the criminal legal system in the United States. This course will cover various issues and operations of crime and the criminal legal system in the United States through a sociological lens. Specifically, the course will provide general sociological overviews of crime, cops, courts, and corrections. Each section of the course will examine contemporary issues and theoretical understandings, while also acknowledging the historical context. As a sociological study of crime and criminal justice, the course will explore how social forces shape the way crime and the criminal legal system operates, with particular attention to the ways in which race, gender, and class intersect to influence the administration of justice. Additionally, the course will address the societal consequences of criminal justice policies on families and communities, including a focus on reentry following incarceration. This course concludes with discussions of alternatives to the criminal legal system.
CRJ 214-0001 Tu/Th 8:00 am – 9:15 am Aaron Nolan Rogers Hall 206
CRJ 220 Corrections Cr 3
This course will introduce students to the history, changes, and social impacts of the corrections system within the United States. Students will learn how the American correctional system became a hallmark for the punishment and management of offenders with one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. As part of this course, students will also examine important criminal justice policies and learn the component parts of the U.S. correctional system. Examples of topics covered in this class include the establishment of community corrections, the societal impact of mass incarceration, and the impacts of mass incarceration on both urban and rural communities.
CRJ 220-0180 Tu 9:30 AM – 12:20 PM Ebonie Epinger Online
CRJ 290 Topics in Sociology: Research in Sociology Cr 3
Explores the relationship between theory and research. Specific topics include the nature of scientific proof in the
social sciences, measurements of variables, hypothesis and theory testing, sampling, research design, ethical issues in
research, and the relationship between research and policy-making
CRJ 290-001 Tu/Th 11:00 pm – 12:15 pm Michael Haedicke Shibles 202
SOC 220 Sociology of Deviance Cr 3
This course examines the nature and meaning of deviant behavior and the relationship between social norms and deviance. We explore what is, and what is not, considered deviant in the United States and around the world and how that comes to be determined. By the end of this course, you will understand how deviance is constructed, defined, viewed, and reproduced. You will be able to critically evaluate institutional responses to and control of deviance. Our study covers many topics including sex and sexuality, extreme tattooing, religion, cult, white supremacy, drugs/alcohol, deviant subcultures, and corporate crime. We examine the important theories of deviance and the relative nature of deviance.
SOC 220-0001 MoWe 9:00 AM – 9:50 AM Glenn Eichel Jenness Hall 108
Fri 9:00 AM – 9:50 AM Glenn Eichel Online
SOC 240 Topics in Sociology: Family Systems that Harm & Pathways to Healing CR 3
In this course we will examine the various patterns that exist in certain family systems that consciously or unconsciously harm one or more of their own members, such as families where alcoholism is present, where there is physical, verbal, emotional, or sexual abuse. We will examine concepts such as scapegoating in family systems, gaslighting, projection, denial, inter-generational trauma, domestic violence, sexual abuse, sibling abuse, family “rules” as well the way in which family narratives and stories often silence the narrative of abuse and privilege the stories of some family members over others. As a system, the family unit would ideally support and protect all of its members; however, we will explore what happens in families when this is not the case and give voice to the stories of the most vulnerable members in a family system, the targeted individual, scapegoat, “black sheep,” or “identified patient.” We will explore these types of family dynamics across racial, ethnic, class groups and investigate these patterns through the lens of gender as well. We will also examine the various strategies that targeted individuals in families have used to break free from harmful family dynamics, including the role of the first-personal narrative (autobiographical writing), expressive arts as therapy (dance, music, art therapy), as well the role of professional counseling. We will draw on a range of literature in this course, including clinical mental health literature but also anthropological, sociological and literary sources to examine the harms that are sometimes done within the most intimate social system in society, the family, harms that are then frequently silenced. The theoretical models employed in our analysis will include feminist pedagogical, sociological, clinical counseling, and family and systems theories.
SOC 240-o990 Asynchronous Mary Okin Online
SOC 290 Topics in Sociology: Research Methods in Sociology
Explores the relationship between theory and research. Specific topics include the nature of scientific proof in the social sciences, measurements of variables, hypothesis and theory testing, sampling, research design, ethical issues in research, and the relationship between research and policy-making. Cross-listed with CRJ 290.
SOC 290-001 Tu/Th 11:00 am – 12:15 pm Michael Haedicke Shibles 202
CRJ 314 Law & Society Cr 3
Presents a sociological perspective on law and the legal system in the United States and other societies. Topics include problems in defining law, sociological theories of the origins and consequences of law, international differences in modes of dispute resolution, the relation between law and social change, studies of the legal profession and legal discretion in the criminal justice system. Credit cannot be earned for both CRJ 314 and SOC 314.
CRJ 314-001 Tu/Th 5:00 pm Colleen Coffey Stevens 155